Electronic device having magnetic latching mechanism

• US 7,583,500 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2005
• Issued: 09/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Degner, Brett, Ligtenberg, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): Gandhi; Jayprakash N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Edwards; Anthony Q
• Application Number:
  US11/302,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20070133156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,358 Days
• Field of Search: 361142-148, 361679-683
• US Class Current: 361/679.27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1679 for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA G06F1/1681 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 7/04 Means for releasing the attractive force

Abstract

A magnetic latch for a display of a laptop computer is disclosed. The latch uses magnetic attraction to maintain the display closed and uses magnetic repelling forces to pop-up the display when opened. The latch includes one or more magnetic elements in the body of the laptop and at least one magnetic element in the display. When the display is closed, the magnet element in the display is positioned adjacent the magnet element in the body having an opposite polarity so that the magnet elements are attracted to one another. To pop-up the display, the user moves the magnetic element in the display so that it meets the magnetic pole in the body having the same polarity. When these meet, the repelling force between them causes the display to open slightly so that a user can then readily open the display.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a first body;

a second body hingedly connected to the first body;

a first magnetic component positioned on the first body and comprising—

first permanent magnets arranged adjacent one another in a first line, separated by a first distance from one another, and arranged with alternating first and second polarities, and

a first ferromagnetic element positioned at a first end of the first line; and

a second magnetic component positioned on the second body and being movable between an open state and a closed state, the second component comprising—

second permanent magnets arranged adjacent one another in a second line parallel to the first line, separated by a second distance from one another, and arranged with alternating first and second polarities, and

a second ferromagnetic element positioned at a second end of the second line, the second end being opposite of the first end,

wherein to maintain the first body substantially closed against the second body, the first and second magnetic components are magnetically attractable to one another when the second magnetic component has the closed state, and

wherein to move the first body at least partially open from the second body, the first and second components are magnetically repellable from one another when the second magnetic component has the open state.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second magnetic component automatically resets from the open state to the closed state when closing the first body against the second body.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is selected from the group consisting of a laptop computer, a portable CD player, a portable DVD player, a PDA, a calculator, and a cell phone.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first body comprises a display of a laptop computer, and wherein the second body comprises a body of the laptop computer having the display hingedly connected thereto.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising means for mechanically biasing the second component to the close state.

14. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second component is moveable along the second line.

15. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first distance along the first line is the same as the second distance along the second line.

16. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the magnetic repulsion between the first and second components automatically moves the first body at least partially open from the second body by a pop-up distance, the pop-up distance overcoming the magnetic attraction between the first and second components when the second component has the close state.

17. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first permanent magnets each comprise a first strength, and wherein the second permanent magnets each comprises a second strength greater than the first strength.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the first permanent magnets each comprises a first dimension orthogonal to the first line, and wherein second permanent magnets each comprises a second dimension orthogonal to the second line, wherein the second dimension is greater than the first dimension.

19. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein each of the first permanent magnets has the first and second polarities arranged in a first direction orthogonal to the first line, and wherein each of the second permanent magnets has the first and second polarities arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the second line.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the first and second directions are orthogonal to the direction of attraction between the first and second components.

21. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the first and second directions are parallel to the direction of attraction between the first and second components.

22. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein in the close state—

the first ferromagnetic element aligns in attracted relation to one of the second permanent magnets on one end of the second line,

the second ferromagnetic element aligns in attracted relation to one of the first permanent magnets on one end of the first line, and

the remaining first and second permanent magnets align in attracted relation to one another.

23. The electronic device of claim 22, wherein in the open state—

the first ferromagnetic element misaligns from the one second permanent magnet on the one end of the second line,

the second ferromagnetic element misaligns from the one first permanent magnet on the one end of the first line, and

each of the first and second permanent magnets align in repellable relation to one another.

24. The electronic device of claim 22, wherein—

the movement of the second component relative to the first magnetic component is mechanically unbiased,

the second component automatically resets from the open state to the close state when the first body closes against the second body, and

in the automatic resetting, the magnetic attraction between the first and second components automatically realigns the first ferromagnetic element with the one second permanent magnet, the second ferromagnetic element with the one first permanent magnet, and each of the remaining first and second permanent magnets with one another.

5. An electronic device, comprising:

a first body;

a second body hingedly connected to the first body;

a first magnetic component positioned on the first body, the first magnetic component comprising at least one ferromagnetic element and at least one first permanent magnet having a first polarity configuration; and

a second magnetic component positioned on the second body and being movable between an open state and a closed state, the second magnetic component comprising at least one second permanent magnet having a second polarity configuration magnetically repelling the first polarity configuration,

wherein to maintain the first body substantially closed against the second body, the first and second magnetic components are magnetically attractable to one another when the first and second magnetic components have the closed state, and

wherein to automatically move the first body at least partially open from the second body, the first and second magnetic components are magnetically repellable from one another when the second magnetic component has the open state.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the second magnetic component automatically resets to the closed state when closing the first body against the second body.

7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the electronic device is selected from the group consisting of a laptop computer, a portable CD player, a portable DVD player, a PDA, a calculator, and a cell phone.

8. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the first body comprises a display of a laptop computer, and wherein the second body comprises a body of the laptop computer having the display hingedly connected thereto.

9. The electronic device of claim 5, comprising

means for magnetically repelling the first body from the second body to automatically move the first body at least partially open from the second body by a pop-up distance, the pop-up distance overcoming the magnetic attraction between the first and second components when the second component has the closed state.

10. The electronic device of claim 5, comprising means for selecting between the open and closed states of the second magnetic component.

11. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the means for selecting comprises means for moving the second magnetic component.

12. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the means for selecting comprises means for automatically resetting the second magnetic component from the open state to the closed state.

25. An electronic device, comprising:

a first body;

a second body hingedly connected to the first body;

a first component positioned on the first body and comprising—

first permanent magnet polarities alternatingly arranged along a first line, and

a first ferromagnetic element positioned at a first end of the first line; and

a second component positioned on the second body and being movable between

an open state and a close state, the second component comprising—

second permanent magnet polarities alternatingly arranged along a second line, and

a second ferromagnetic element positioned at a second end of the second line, the second end being opposite of the first end,

wherein to maintain the first body closed against the second body, the first permanent magnet polarity on a second end of the first line is magnetically attractable to the second ferromagnetic element at the second end of the second line, the second permanent magnet polarity on a first end of the second line is magnetically attractable to the first ferromagnetic element on the first end of the first line, and each of the remaining first and second permanent magnet polarities are magnetically attractable to one another when the second component has the close state, and

wherein to move the first body at least partially open from the second body, each of the first and second permanent magnet polarities are magnetically repellable from one another when the second magnetic component has the open state.

26. The electronic device of claim 25, wherein the magnetic repulsion between the first and second components automatically moves the first body at least partially open from the second body by a pop-up distance, the pop-up distance overcoming the magnetic attraction between the first and second components when the second component has the close state.

27. The electronic device of claim 25, wherein

the movement of the second component relative to the first magnetic component is mechanically unbiased,

the second component automatically resets from the open state to the close state when the first body closes against the second body, and

in the automatic resetting, the magnetic attraction between the first and second components automatically realigns the first ferromagnetic element with the second permanent magnet polarity on the first end, the second ferromagnetic element with the first permanent magnet polarity on the second end, and each of the remaining first and second permanent magnet polarities with one another.

28. The electronic device of claim 25, wherein the first permanent magnet polarities each comprise a first strength, and wherein the second permanent magnet polarities each comprises a second strength greater than the first strength.

29. The electronic device of claim 25, wherein—

first permanent magnets having the first permanent magnet polarities are arranged adjacent one another in the first line and separated by a first distance from one another, and

second permanent magnets having the second permanent magnet polarities are arranged adjacent one another in the second line and separated by a second distance from one another.